United Service (10 page)

“Nah, I’m good.” Sterling pulled out a small eyedropper bottle and small spray bottle from his bag. Both were filled with rain that he had collected earlier.

“Well, if you don’t want her, I’ll take her. Excuse me.” He walked off to talk with the lovely woman.

*******

Kate had disappeared into a magazine shop, so Sterling went to find her. She carried some magazines in her hand and some gum. Sterling never met a vampire who chewed gum before. Actually, if you wanted to appear human, chewing gum was a good way to do it. She paid for her purchase and walked out of the store with Sterling.

“Do you want some coffee?” he asked her.

She leaned into him and whispered, “Vampires can’t drink human food.”

Most vampires, including half–breeds, drank coffee since it was one of the few human indulgences that didn’t taste like dirt. That and alcohol. “Most of our kind thinks coffee tastes good,” Sterling said, stressing the word ‘our’.

She shook her head. “Everything tastes like sawdust to me.”

“Even gum?” He pointed to her recent purchase.

She held up the small pack of gum. “This stuff loses its flavor in less than 2 minutes.”

“Then why chew it? Especially with your tongue pierced. The piercing must get in the way.”

One eyebrow arched, lifting the rod piercing. “I like body art. Plus, I’ve chewed gum since long before I transitioned. I guess old habits die hard.”

She followed him over as he ordered coffee from a vendor. “How good can coffee be?” she asked.

“You ever try a cup?”

“Never.”

When the vendor gave Sterling the coffee, he handed the hot beverage over to Kate. “Take a sip and tell me if you want one.” She tentatively took a small sip of the brew. Then she took a couple of larger sips and made a yummy noise in the back of her throat. Sterling looked at the vendor. “Make it two.” He paid for the coffees and they walked back over to the gate to find Ben.

“Ok, you were right about the taste of coffee.” She took another large gulp of the drink.

Sterling noticed she used both hands to drink from the cup. It almost seemed like a challenge for her to drink and hold her plastic bag from the store. Something wasn’t right. Sterling was trying to figure out Kate’s age. She looked about twenty–five, which was consistent with being a purebred vampire. Of course, vampires could be any age based on the amount of blood they drank, so her age was hard to determine. Her outfit was a bit on the younger side of fashion he guessed, but the real clue was her poor posture and the slang she spoke that tipped him off that she was fairly young. They sat down and she pulled out her magazines. Sterling read the titles, but he didn’t recognize them. They looked like trashy magazines with more glitz than substance. Actually, a few were trashy teenage mags. He may have overestimated her age by a long shot. He now guessed she had been born about twenty years ago.

They sat down directly across from each other in a quiet area of the airport. Their gate stood easily within eyesight of where they sat. “Where’s Ben?” she asked.

Sterling pointed over to where Ben was standing.

She watched Ben as he interacted with the woman. “Of course. There’s time to kill, why not hit on some unsuspecting human woman,” she said in a snarky tone. She watched as Ben walked away with the woman in search of an executive lounge or janitor closet.

Sterling assumed she probably used her vampire hearing to listen in on the conversation. “Eavesdropping is a bad habit, Kate.”

One eyebrow rose. “I can’t imagine a quick bathroom experience would be all that fulfilling.” She opened one of the magazines and started flipping through it.

Last night with the random woman at the bar was a case in point, and Kate’s statement cut Sterling like a knife. “Well, it is what it is.” He took a sip of coffee and studied the people passing the gate they sat at.

“You sound like someone who has been in a bathroom a time or two.” She trailed off her sentence like she expected him to jump in with personal stories. That wasn’t going to happen.

“You sound like someone who has never had a bad sexual experience,” he said.

“True.” She smiled at Sterling as she sipped her coffee, her tongue stroking across her lips before she took the sip.

He focused on her tongue and the way her lips moved around the top of the cup. He cleared his throat to tear himself away. “Well, you’re young. Give yourself time. Life is always full of disappointments, Kate.” She didn’t rally back a comment, so he watched her as she tried to hold her coffee and flip pages in her magazine. Her lack of coordination fascinated him. He figured with all the effort she was using it would be impossible for her to chew the gum she bought at the same time. She enjoyed the coffee and he could swear her gray eyes twinkled more while she drank; in fact, they almost looked blue. He watched as she brought the cup up to her lips, but then, as though her wrist stopped working, she spilled the scalding hot liquid on her blouse.

“Kate! Are you okay?” He jumped up from his seat and sat next to her. He knew her skin would heal, but the pain of the scalding burn would make an uncomfortable flight for her.

“Yeah. I’m fine.” She had not even flinched when the coffee dumped on her. “Dang. I liked this blouse.” She set her bag of magazines down and reached for her carry–on bag to retrieve a new shirt. “I should go take care of this in the bathroom. Can you keep an eye on my stuff?”

Before Sterling could answer, Kate added in a seductive voice, “Unless you want to join me in the bathroom, Sterling.”

His heart skipped a beat, but her grin told him the offer wasn’t genuine. “Don’t offer unless you’re serious, because I will follow you into that bathroom, Kate.” He didn’t mean to blurt that out, but realized once it was said how true it was. Unfortunately, his response had come out more as a threat than anything seductive, and it looked like he may have even scared her. Damn. He was in new territory, without a map or anyone to ask directions when it came to flirting with purebreds.
Strike one
, he thought.

Her smile quickly faded as Sterling picked up the magazines and shook them off, allowing the drops of coffee to splatter on the rug. “Sorry. I was only kidding,” she admitted. She then quickly left to wash herself off. Sterling’s eyes followed her every step of the way, his eyes never leaving her backside. He shifted in his seat and fought the urge to follow her into the restroom.

Ben had already rejoined them when Sterling saw Kate returning from the bathroom. A few other travelers sat near them as well. Kate had rinsed her blouse in the sink and now carried the shirt back, dripping wet, to where Sterling and Ben waited. She now wore a spaghetti–strapped camisole top. She approached her original seat and stored her wet shirt in the plastic bag from her magazines.

No one had to announce Kate’s presence to Sterling, he saw her emerge from the bathroom. Her hourglass figure was perfect and, as she walked over, he couldn’t help but notice her outfit. The jeans she was already wearing were taut and tight fitting. He appreciated those jeans very much and loved watching her walk. But the shirt seemed downright indecent to be worn in public. It was white and, judging by her perky nipples poking through it, there was no bra underneath.

Sterling saw how Ben eyed Kate. He also noticed two other men sitting near them eyeing her as well. They weren’t making eye contact. Their focus was south of her eyes. Sterling stood up and blocked the humans’ view. “Kate. What are you wearing? Where is your shirt?” he asked.

“I’m wearing my shirt. Why?”

“Because that’s not a shirt, it’s a brassiere. That garment is supposed to be worn under your clothing.”

“No. It’s a cami and it’s for outerwear,” she said, sitting down beside Ben.

“She looks fine to me, Sterling.” Ben’s eyes still were not looking at Kate’s face, and that pissed Sterling off.

“I like the shirt.” Ben now smiled and actually made eye contact with Kate.

“Why thank you, Ben,” Kate said.

Sterling let out a low growl that caused Ben to look away. Sterling inspected Kate’s overall appearance. She couldn’t have been too much older than Alicia. Alicia’s green and black dress held in the evidence room was plain, and Alicia had been attacked. He knew how sick and depraved a human male could think, and wearing a top this skimpy was asking for trouble. He gritted his teeth and said as politely as he could, “Please go back to the bathroom and put on the rest of your outfit.”

Kate stood up and approached Sterling, stopping only inches away from where he stood and making eye contact. “You don’t like the way I look?”

One of her eyebrows rose as she faced off with him. Her piercing lifted with the brow and reminded him that she only looked human. She was a purebred, eyebrow piercing notwithstanding, and she could handle herself. “You look fine. Sit back down,” he said as he looked away from her. Overall, he loved the shirt. Lace adorned the neckline and the bodice which accentuated her breasts. The form–fitting top showed off her gorgeous figure. Her perky nipples poked through the fabric, and he wanted to touch them. He figured every man in the vicinity had the same idea.

She turned to sit and Sterling resumed looking at her. He had been so focused on her outfit that he had not noticed the muscular arms the new top showed off. She had nicely developed arms, but they were bruised. Actually, they had several bruises. He was sure he could lay claim to the ones near her wrists and her upper arm, and he felt his gut twist at that self–acknowledgement. His eyes squinted and his head tilted to the side as he studied the many bruises. “Kate …”

Kate’s hands moved quickly to cover up the biggest of the bruises. “You’re right, Sterling. I should cover up more. Unfortunately, I only brought camis with me. The only long sleeved shirt I brought is now dirty.”

He caught the change of subject. Her bruises were none of his business. “Here. Wear one of my shirts.” He reached in and pulled out a light blue, button down from his bag. “This shirt will bring out the blue of your eyes.”

“Thank you.” She struggled to put on the shirt, so Sterling helped her. She sat down next to her two travel companions without smiling or making eye contact. It was an awkward few moments, and then Sterling watched as Kate brought one of the long sleeves up to her nose and smelled it. “It smells like you. Like sandalwood and soap.” She gave Sterling a half smile.

He liked the way she looked wearing his shirt. It dwarfed her tiny frame, but she appeared comfortable in it. He was right; it did bring out the color in her eyes.

Since he didn’t want to drop the subject, Sterling asked in his most sympathetic voice, “Kate, you have many problems with your hands. What’s with the gloves you wear?” He had noticed her gloves the second he first met her. It was too warm to wear them, and even though vamps have no body heat, they do try to fit into human crowds without bringing attention to themselves.

She seemed nervous to Sterling, but she answered, “They’re a fashion statement. All the women are wearing gloves these days.”

If the airport was a good cross section of the human population, then he didn’t believe her. The only two people wearing gloves were him and Kate. “That’s fine. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Tell me why you wear gloves,” she counter demanded.

“No.”

“Okay you two, settle down.” Ben said.

Kate shook her head. “You know, you could be picking up women too, like Ben, if you didn’t wear your girly gloves.” Sterling looked down at his plain white gloves. They didn’t seem girly to him at all. “Honestly Sterling, they look like the pair I wear.”

“I do fine,” Sterling growled. He noticed Ben roll his eyes. “I’m going for more coffee. Ben? Kate? You want more?”

“I’m fine,” was Ben’s response.

“Yes, thank you,” Kate answered. Reaching for her bag she added, “I can pay for the next round.”

Sterling stopped her by saying, “The java is on me, sweetheart.”

The bright sun shone down on the dingy camp, announcing another day of captivity had begun. Kekoa inhaled deeply. The dank stench seemed stronger today, so either his senses had become more heightened, or the drugs the human captors gave the children were losing their effect on him. Perhaps both. Either way, the smell sickened him. He scanned the cabin of sleeping boys. Now, nearly noon, the boys still slept.

Kekoa had arrived at the camp late last night, and the boys had already been asleep, with one notable exception – Brian. Brian was the next oldest boy in the camp. A good year younger than Kekoa, he looked much younger because of his small frame. The boy barely came to 5’ 6”, which was on the small side for a seventeen year old. Of course, with poor nutrition and drugs in their bodies for years, all the children in the camp seemed somewhat smallish.

Brian had still been awake and cowering in his bed when Kekoa brought Stephen into the cabin last night. Brian’s tear–stained pillow and paled expression gave away his pain. He did his best to fight falling asleep, but once he saw Kekoa back in their cabin, Brian allowed the drugs to take over his body and give him the rest he needed.

With Stephen in tow, Kekoa couldn’t ask much of Brian before he passed out in a drug induced stupor. The one coherent message Brian had said before passing out was that he was glad Kekoa had returned and could help watch over the remaining children.